Going green is not quite as easy as it seems sometimes. Doing one little thing, like buying and using energy efficient bulbs is great until it comes time to replace them. Most everyone knows by now that it is not safe to just toss them in the trash, but what actually should be done and are there sources for fluorescent light bulb recycling?
Mercury is the problem in today’s energy saving light bulbs. Both the very popular compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) and the high intensity discharge type have this in powdered form as the key ingredient. The light bulb industry has done much to limit the amount of mercury in bulbs and it is a tiny amount, about five milligrams, far less than in a typical old school home thermometer. Problem is that even though the amount is miniscule, multiply this by the millions of light bulbs used monthly and it is easy to see where the landfill issues come from.
In the United States, more than 670 million CFLs and other bulbs containing mercury are tossed away each year. Sadly, the vast majority just gets put in wastebaskets and trashcans and off they go to the municipal dump. Materials in dumps are generally land filled, i.e. buried under piles of other trash or burned. Either of these options lets mercury be released into the surrounding environment via groundwater or air.
The good news is that almost every single part of a CFL can be recycled and used again. Starting with the metal piece at the end of the bulb, professional recycling firms can remove these and sell them in the scrap metal market. Glass has been successfully recycled for years and this holds true for the glass in light bulbs too. What is most surprising is that the chemical powdered mercury can also be reused and recycled.
Fluorescent light bulb recycling is the only way to safely dispose of the energy saving CFLs. If you have taken the one small step to use these environmentally friendly power savers, why not just take another small step for mankind? Instead of tossing the bulb into the wastebasket, take it to an authorized recycler and be sure that your green efforts are complete?
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